This invention relates generally to methods and apparatus for cooling electronic components housed within an electronics assembly package or cabinet, and more specifically to improved housing and circuit boards comprising an electronic assembly package particularly adapted to provide cooling to heat generating electronic components mounted on the circuit boards by impingement of streams of fluid coolant onto such electronic components.
Existing systems for cooling electronic components mounted upon circuit boards normally provide circulation of fluid coolant (usually air) either by means of a blower system adapted to circulate the coolant throughout the housing containing the electronics (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 2,187,011 to Braden; U.S. Pat. No. 3,626,251 to Vigue), or by means of a suitably constructed housing having chambers, baffles, ducts, and spaced wall structures for conducting the coolant to various locations within the housing (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 3,967,874 to Calabro; U.S. Pat. No. 2,843,806 to O'Neill; U.S. Pat. No. 4,006,388 to Bartholomew). Modern demands for compact, lightweight electronic packages containing, for example, a large number of closely spaced or stacked electronic circuit boards have not been fully satisfied by these existing systems because such systems may provide unsatisfactory coolant flow to specific electronic components to be cooled due to such components being shielded from the coolant flow by other components or circuit boards, or because such components are mounted within the housing too remotely from the source of coolant to be effectively cooled. Existing systems providing coolant circulation through ducts and the like integrated into the housing often add undesirable weight and bulk to the overall electronics package, especially in airborn applications where space and weight are premium considerations.